Are PCCB's really worth it?
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I don't think we adjusted the bias, but Synergy might have done it while I wasn't looking. I haven't noticed it needing anything though.
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BTW Stock pads that come with the car are exactly the wrong pads to use at the track. WHy Porsche used these pads on these
brakes is beyond me ESPECIALLY with Gen I's. The stock GT3 pads on 997s are not the right pads to track with either.
For Gen IIs the correct pads are Porsche Motorsport GREEN pads. You will have the most success with these.
And if you continue to use the wrong pads over and over such as OEM pads you are headed to
failure.
Any 997 has Gen IIs -the first car with Gen IIs was the 996 Twin Turbo S. A steel set of rotors really good ones that are track worthy are less than $3K. Some vendors offer PCCB replacement kits. But like I said I have heard of dealers offering PCCB
replacement kits for $5k for the Ceramic rotor kits.
If you are not going to track your car then PCCBs will last forever. The only time you can get into trouble with PCCBs if you use the right pads is going OFF the track. You can embed a pebble between the pads and the rotor and scar the rotor. If you are going off the track ALOT you may need other things like instruction instead of worrying about your PCCBs.
Again, this is kind of important and a big deal since this is becoming almost a must have. Dont ask someone who doesnt have them.Go to someone who has the brakes and used the brakes and tracked the brakes. There are all kinds of horror stories (mostly false and mostly 4th hand) and it doesnt do you any good to get incomplete or just plain incorrect data when you are the one getting ready to make the purchase.
In the GT3 world there are fewer and fewer that are going for steel. More factory racing series are racing with PCCBs in Europe. When Gen Is came out the factory cars and customer race cars went to iron. That isnt the case so much any more and there is a good reason. These brakes rock and they drop weight in the most important place you can lose weight. You get better turn in and accelleration and all the good things that go with low weight components.
brakes is beyond me ESPECIALLY with Gen I's. The stock GT3 pads on 997s are not the right pads to track with either.
For Gen IIs the correct pads are Porsche Motorsport GREEN pads. You will have the most success with these.
And if you continue to use the wrong pads over and over such as OEM pads you are headed to
failure.
Any 997 has Gen IIs -the first car with Gen IIs was the 996 Twin Turbo S. A steel set of rotors really good ones that are track worthy are less than $3K. Some vendors offer PCCB replacement kits. But like I said I have heard of dealers offering PCCB
replacement kits for $5k for the Ceramic rotor kits.
If you are not going to track your car then PCCBs will last forever. The only time you can get into trouble with PCCBs if you use the right pads is going OFF the track. You can embed a pebble between the pads and the rotor and scar the rotor. If you are going off the track ALOT you may need other things like instruction instead of worrying about your PCCBs.
Again, this is kind of important and a big deal since this is becoming almost a must have. Dont ask someone who doesnt have them.Go to someone who has the brakes and used the brakes and tracked the brakes. There are all kinds of horror stories (mostly false and mostly 4th hand) and it doesnt do you any good to get incomplete or just plain incorrect data when you are the one getting ready to make the purchase.
In the GT3 world there are fewer and fewer that are going for steel. More factory racing series are racing with PCCBs in Europe. When Gen Is came out the factory cars and customer race cars went to iron. That isnt the case so much any more and there is a good reason. These brakes rock and they drop weight in the most important place you can lose weight. You get better turn in and accelleration and all the good things that go with low weight components.
Old Guy
where do you get your motorsport greenies...and are there any issues with more rotor wear with the greenies like with normal steel rotors using race pads . i always thought that the race pads worked better but at the expense of the rotors..have nothing to lose as my first set or rotors fried quickly with oem pads...thanks
btw 49 ain't so old....especially down here in florida
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I don't think so..no one has ever complained about brake fade with the OEM red's and even if you do track the car with the PCCB's the cost to replace the rotors on those things is astronomical.
Dave
Dave
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Absolutely 100% yes.I think that most people who have an opinion about them, don't have them. My car wouldn't stop as fast without them. This question is no different as if you were to ask if it's worth dating a playboy girl who has a lousy mouth, lousy dental work.
A fast car is only credible & valuable if it can stop as quickily as it accelerates.
Speed is nothing without control. I can't imagine anything other. I drove a 997 Stock at Laguna Seca and a Boxster as well and i REALLY MISSED my breaks and felt like i was going downhill on ice.
That's my 2cents worth.
A fast car is only credible & valuable if it can stop as quickily as it accelerates.
Speed is nothing without control. I can't imagine anything other. I drove a 997 Stock at Laguna Seca and a Boxster as well and i REALLY MISSED my breaks and felt like i was going downhill on ice.
That's my 2cents worth.
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I'd buy a set of Brembo' GTR Series for $12K that are lighter and more track-worthy than PCCB's.
Rotors are $2K vs. $10K and pads are readily available.
http://www.rebmw.com/Merchant2/graph...gtr/gtr_lg.jpg
Rotors are $2K vs. $10K and pads are readily available.
http://www.rebmw.com/Merchant2/graph...gtr/gtr_lg.jpg
Last edited by c2mojo; Jul 22, 2008 at 02:53 PM. Reason: bad pic
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Well guys, for what it is worth, I'm gonna tell you my story. Been there, done that style, but not trying to make things complicated.
My associate and I I both bought 997 C4S in august last year. after around 12 / 15 000 km on each car and 5 to 6 track days, our front rotors are dead.
Obvious to say that Porsche doesn't want to bother replacing the disc nor taking the time to give a polite answer to customers that paid the cash but are now disappointed because they tracked the car. (Just have a look at all those papers about Porsche braking since more than 50 years & the PCCB brochure !)
So what ? I'm replacing PCCB with GT3 rotors (996 GT3 cup front & 997 gt3 rear with RS29 & 19 - F&R) maybe not better, but a lot cheaper to change and, to the opinions of my instructors less prone to being damaged if I ever see the gravel side of the track :-)
Just my 0,2.
Cedric
My associate and I I both bought 997 C4S in august last year. after around 12 / 15 000 km on each car and 5 to 6 track days, our front rotors are dead.
Obvious to say that Porsche doesn't want to bother replacing the disc nor taking the time to give a polite answer to customers that paid the cash but are now disappointed because they tracked the car. (Just have a look at all those papers about Porsche braking since more than 50 years & the PCCB brochure !)
So what ? I'm replacing PCCB with GT3 rotors (996 GT3 cup front & 997 gt3 rear with RS29 & 19 - F&R) maybe not better, but a lot cheaper to change and, to the opinions of my instructors less prone to being damaged if I ever see the gravel side of the track :-)
Just my 0,2.
Cedric
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Absolutely 100% yes.I think that most people who have an opinion about them, don't have them. My car wouldn't stop as fast without them. This question is no different as if you were to ask if it's worth dating a playboy girl who has a lousy mouth, lousy dental work.
A fast car is only credible & valuable if it can stop as quickily as it accelerates.
Speed is nothing without control. I can't imagine anything other. I drove a 997 Stock at Laguna Seca and a Boxster as well and i REALLY MISSED my breaks and felt like i was going downhill on ice.
That's my 2cents worth.
A fast car is only credible & valuable if it can stop as quickily as it accelerates.
Speed is nothing without control. I can't imagine anything other. I drove a 997 Stock at Laguna Seca and a Boxster as well and i REALLY MISSED my breaks and felt like i was going downhill on ice.
That's my 2cents worth.
I dont know how hard your pushing, but it seems you dont let the brakes off too easy...so maybe your experience just happens to be better than that of those that I have talked to...personally, I have been thrilled with the steel rotors and feel they stop amazingly and at 2XX for replacement cup rotors, I couldnt be much happier. What pads are you running with your PCCBS?
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I like them for the weight savings and the lack of dust. I priced out the front pads prior to ordering the car and they're something like $360 vice $260 for iron brakes. As one of the "elder statesmen" on this list I got out of Porsche track racing a long time ago. If you can't afford the best, then go race a less expensive car.
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A different take on the PCCBs
When I upgraded from a 2001 C4 Cab to a turbo Cab, I specifically went for the X50 over the S, largely due to the brakes. PCCBs cost and day-to-day fragility far overshadowed unsprung weight reduction and fade resistance (which I haven't heard anyone say is significantly better than the Big Reds). Even if you get a CPO car or have the Platinum Service Contract, the brakes are consumables and therefore not covered unless you can prove to PCNA that there was a mechanical failure. PCCB rotors go from $11,200 (Pelican Parts) to $12,500 (Auto Atlanta) for just the fronts. In anticipation of replacing my fronts soon, I purchased Factory rotors, pads and sensors for $500. Even assuming a 10-1 life span, it never comes close. For the $10K plus difference in one set, one can get PSS9s, Short Shift Kit, and just about any other performance upgrade out there. With money left over. With these cars, money isn't the object (or we wouldn't have them in the first place) but shouldn't maximizing benefit vs. cost be a priority with any decision? I especially like having the power of the "S" without the logo. Just like my wife's Audi S6, it is all about understatement...
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